Reviewer: It Was Me Signed [Report This]
Date: October 14 2023 9:01 AM Title: To Walk Among Men

Thulsa Doom? Thulsa Doom?! THULSA DOOM?!

That's a hell of an obscure reference you threw in there! That's one family lineage even the cat girls cant Conquer.

Once again, I'm really enjoying this story. there's a lot of moving parts to it, which I'm into, but the biggest draw for me is still that dynamic between our male and female protagonists. In particular, the ethical quandary surrounding their relationship provides a lot of depth to both Chloé  and Mika.

I think the most interesting part of this is the different ways in which the two of them are using/interpreting the word scared. Chloé still believes that Mika is scared that she might eat him at some point, and this clearly breaks her heart. The way she starts to cry when she tells Mika she would never eat him or any of his friends was a sad but touching moment.

Of course, Mika already knows this and probably has for a while now. If there was any doubt of that, the fact that his reaction was to harshly ask about innocent people who aren't his friends proves this is the case. There was no relief that he was guaranteed safety, something you would expect even if he was still concerned for other people as well. 

No, he's troubled by that answer, because when he told her that she scares him, I don't think he meant that he was afraid of her. In a way, I think he's actually scared for her. He's afraid that she's going to turn into a monster ... well, more of a monster ... a metaphorical monster. Yeah, let's roll with that.

Mika's afraid that he's in love with someone who has no problem taking human life, regardless of whether they "deserve" it, that she'll only ever look at the humans she doesn't know personally as food. He's already trying to reason away any past innocent victims that Chloé may have killed (although he admits he'll never know for sure) by reminding himself that there was no way for her to know better back then. But the fact that he even asked her about it shows how much it bothers him that she might have killed someone who's only crime was being around her. While I think Mika legitimately cares for the lives of the strangers he's trying to save from becoming a potential meal, what he's really worried about is balancing the feelings he has for her with the fear that she's an indiscriminate killer.

In short, he's afraid that he can't be with Chloé, and his efforts to instill a good set of morals in her is his way of fighting against that fear. Not only that, but it's not enough for her to stop eating 

Chloé, of course, can't understand Mika's real fear, as she doesn't understand humans well enough to get such a concept yet. His words are having an impact however. Ironically, though, I think Chloé is doing more of the ethical legwork herself.

For example, I love the way this chapter ended, with Chloé hesitating to eat that womanizer, his begging causing her to fight against her instincts as she wasn't sure what to do. Before we saw which side won out (to be fair, the narrative itself seemed very pro-vore, but we still don't know for sure what she would have done), Mika intervenes and Chloé does the right thing. This is brilliant because we're left to wonder what choice she would have made on her own and, therefore, just how far she's come from a moral perspective.

What I'm really looking forward to down the road, however, is seeing how, if at all, Chloé's code of ethics differs from Mika's as it develops. Will she find instances where she feels morally justified to eat people (obviously, that's different from just eating people and not really caring, even if you try to justify it by calling them "bad")? If so, will Mika understand and accept those differences? I mean, would it would be enough for him if Chloé simply stopped eating people because he asked her to, even if she would still see them as food but just care about him enough to give up some delicious snacks? I don't think that's the case, so she needs to come to these conclusions herself if she's going to get to where Mika wants her to go. As such, he may have to decide if he can accept that she may be able to justify doing some things that he may not agree with, such as eating people who are actively trying to kill them. It'll be interesting to see how that plays out, if it comes to that.

I love how the tabloids are leaking out the catgirls' plans. I usually go to them for all my catgirl news, so this was very reassuring.

I'm also glad that we confirmed that Emilia is working against Ouroboros. It sure seemed that way, but I feel like this is the first time we could confirm that she was working to stop them rather than to sabotage her cohort for personal gain. I also really like her motivation and that she's been having these reservations for centuries, but only just now acting on them. That adds a sense of urgency to the story, cluing us in that this is different what her people have been doing all this time. Shit's about to get real. Like, really real.

The way her mindfuck powers are working on Oklahoma is also fun to read. Oklahoma gets to continue being herself the entire time (as opposed to being in some kind of trance state) and her true motivations shine through, even when she's acting on "orders." Also, I know she's eager to have first dibs on whatever treasure they find, but I wonder if she'll find anything that belongs in a museum.

I've quietly really liked Higgins's character from the start, and I really like where he's going. The way he's been set up as an unfeeling professional cutthroat this whole time makes his concerns about his current employer that much more potent to the reader. Also, I could see him slowly being set up for some kind of redemption arc (I think I've made my feelings on those very clear) but I could just as easily see him diving in head first and going the other way. It's nice to have that kind of uncertainty with a character.

And lastly, I didn't see the plot twist about Mika being part-catperson coming (although with a name like Mika, maybe I should have? It sounds very catperson-like to me, for some reason.). I'm intrigued to see where this development takes us, as Emilia hinted that he could provide an alternative to the catgirls shrinking us all down and eating us, which would be nice.

Author's Response:

I figured if anyone had snake worshiping or half snake descendants running around Thulsa Doom would be the guy haha.

Anyways we'll continue to explore Chloe and Mika's ethics relating to her dietary needs, without getting to into it right now humans are more than just a favored food source. Chloe's ethics are coming along and are definitely more human than when she started, so that's something right?

Higgins is a man who thought he'd seen it all and done it all, and now it turns out he hasn't. He's used to be the worst person in any organization, now he isn't, so like you said he's having some second thoughts.

Oklahoma is very much a Han Solo type, she'll do the right thing most of the time, but she'd really like to get rich doing it. If she finds something that belongs in a museum she'll sell it to them at a very reasonable price!